#like reviews reflect the subjective experience of reading a book

[sheisalivingchild]

Who's afraid of a YA villain protagonist?

Creating the Hunger Games posts I want to see in the world by starting a sideblog...

I've been seeking out review and reaction content for TBOSAS for the last few weeks, and while I've seen a lot of what basically amounts to flag planting about whether or not it's okay to feel sympathetically towards Snow, I feel like there's a hesitancy to actually engage with his character. Even for people coming down on the side of "yeah it's obviously fine," the trend seems to be to keep him at disavowable arms' length. To me, especially while reading the book, and especially in the first sections, I found Coryo to be really relatable in a lot of ways. There's clearly a reason Suzanne Collins felt she could tackle a close-third perspective with this character, and I don't believe it's because she wanted to venture into the dark and twisted mind of a psychopath; quite the opposite.

(Am I telling on myself here? Or do we all experience the world within a bubble of subjectivity? Anyways,)

It's pretty easy, in my opinion, to extend empathy to Coryo on an every-day, visceral level. He's fearful about his future, he's afraid of being ostracized by his peers, he's hungry. With the book laying out his thought process in a straightforward and incremental manner (something I think Collins really excels at as a writer), I saw reflected back at me many of the impulses within myself that I'm most ashamed of; parts that are self-consciousness, cowardly, selfish, resentful. Coryo's hyper-vigilance in social settings jumped out to me right away, and was at times comically relatable. His attention at every moment is concerned with how he is being perceived by others and how his actions will be interpreted, which seems to me like a familiar struggle to pretty much anyone who has been a teenager! Or really anyone who has made themselves visible in a social or online space. Coryo has humanitarian impulses, too, but he's calculating, and never acts unless he can justify a behavior as 'correct.' He doesn't want to stand out. The repulsion he feels towards Sejanus, who wears his heart on his sleeve, comes from the projection of that very fear - Why are you rocking the boat?! Don't you know what they'll do to you?? We know what happens to people who are loud and different; they are bullied, they are knocked down and ostracized. And, in Coryo's case, coming from a place of privilege makes that fear even more acute. He doesn't know what it's like to be deemed an outsider, and he doesn't want to find out.

So, Snow is ambitious, yes, but above all he's driven by a desire for safety and stability, for things to return to "normal" (i.e. when his family was rich and powerful), and an intense fear of what will happen if the tenuous stability of the Capitol is breached. And I get it! Last time that happened, he lived under siege and his family lost everything! Stability in some form is something we all need on a base level, but that desire expresses itself in a myriad of ways; some of which are more well-adjusted than others. Being privy to Coryo's thoughts, fears, and gut reactions makes it easy to understand why he makes the choices that he does, even if we recognize them as wrong.

We see in the book many others ways in which his fears lie underneath his worst impulses, even when they are past the point of being relatable. Alongside his fear of social difference/social upheaval comes a fear of pollution (put inversely, an obsession with purity), which feeds into his misogyny and his bigoted attitude towards the districts. He feels shame and disdain at thought that his cousin may have had to resort to sex work to keep them fed. The question of Lucy Gray's previous relationships drives him to jealous madness. When he starts falling for Lucy Gray, his internal justifications reveal a lot; rather than interrogating his preconceived ideas about citizens outside the Capitol, it's easier for him to single her out an an exception, inventing reasons for why she should be considered more Capitol than District. Dr. Gaul is able to stoke and prey upon these insecurities, persuading him that humanity will always be on the brink of collapse and corruption, and the only solution is to exert totalitarian control.

I think what TBOSAS does wonderfully is illustrate that choosing safety and stability can put us at odds with our compassion. That being human on the inside isn't enough to spare us from villainy; we also have to expand outside of ourselves, resisting judgement of others and choosing to protect each other. That choices made out of fear and out of selfishness are what keep the status quo in place and allow evil to perpetuate.

#tbosas #oh my lord how many tags do I put here #the hunger games #the ballad of songbirds and snakes #meta #suzanne collins #thg #coriolanus snow #my stuff #my thoughts

[popculturelib]

In honor of Juneteenth, we are featuring four books in our collection by queer Black and African authors. Descriptions of the books are below the read more.

Lez Talk: A Collection of Black Lesbian Short Fiction (2016) ed. by S. Andrea Allen & Lauren Cherelle.

Black Love Matters: Real Talk on Romance, Being Seen, and Happy Ever Afters (2022) ed. by Jessica P. Pryde

The Black Imagination: Science Fiction, Futurism and the Speculative (2011) ed. by Sandra Jackson and Julie E. Moody-Freeman

Meanwhile: Graphic Short Stories about Everyday Queer Life in Southern and East Africa (2019) by the Qintu Collab

The Browne Popular Culture Library (BPCL), founded in 1969, is the most comprehensive archive of its kind in the United States.  Our focus and mission is to acquire and preserve research materials on American Popular Culture (post 1876) for curricular and research use. Visit our website at https://www.bgsu.edu/library/pcl.html.

Lez Talk

A necessary and relevant addition to the Black LGBTQ literary canon, which oftentimes over looks Black lesbian Writing, Lez Talk is a collection of short stories that embraces the fullness of Black lesbian experiences. The contributors operate under the assumption that "lesbian" is not a dirty word, and have written stories that amplify the diversity of Black lesbian lives. At once provocative, emotional, adventurous, and celebratory, Lez Talk crosses a range of fictional genres, including romance, speculative, and humor. The writers explore new subjects and aspects of their experiences, and affirm their gifts as writers and lesbian women.

Black Love Matters

An incisive, intersectional essay anthology that celebrates and examines romance and romantic media through the lens of Black readers, writers, and cultural commentators, edited by Book Riot columnist and librarian Jessica Pryde. Romantic love has been one of the most essential elements of storytelling for centuries. But for Black people in the United States and across the diaspora, it hasn't often been easy to find Black romance joyfully showcased in entertainment media. In this collection, revered authors and sparkling newcomers, librarians and academicians, and avid readers and reviewers consider the mirrors and windows into Black love as it is depicted in the novels, television shows, and films that have shaped their own stories. Whether personal reflection or cultural commentary, these essays delve into Black love now and in the past, including topics from the history of Black romance to social justice and the Black community to the meaning of desire and desirability. Exploring the multifaceted ways love is seen--and the ways it isn't--this diverse array of Black voices collectively shines a light on the power of crafting happy endings for Black lovers. Jessica Pryde is joined by Carole V. Bell, Sarah Hannah Gomez, Jasmine Guillory, Da'Shaun Harrison, Margo Hendricks, Adriana Herrera, Piper Huguley, Kosoko Jackson, Nicole M. Jackson, Beverly Jenkins, Christina C. Jones, Julie Moody-Freeman, and Allie Parker in this collection.

The Black Imagination

This critical collection covers a broad spectrum of works, both literary and cinematic, and issues from writers, directors, and artists who claim the science fiction, speculative fiction, and Afro-futurist genres. The anthology extends the discursive boundaries of science fiction by examining iconic writers like Octavia Butler, Walter Mosley, and Nalo Hopkinson through the lens of ecofeminist veganism, post-9/11 racial geopolitics, and the effect of the computer database on human voice and agency. Contributors expand what the field characterizes as speculative fiction by examining for the first time the vampire tropes present in Audre Lorde’s poetry, and by tracing her influence on the horror fiction of Jewelle Gomez. The collection moves beyond exploration of literary fiction to study the Afro-futurist representations of Blacks in comic books, in the Star Trek franchise, in African films, and in blockbuster films like Independence Day, I Robot, and I Am Legend.

Meanwhile

The lived realities of young queer people in African contexts are not well documented. On the one hand, homophobic political discourse tends to portray queer people as 'deviant' and 'unAfrican', and on the other, public health research and advocacy often portrays them as victims of violence and HIV. Of course, young queer lives are far more diverse, rich and complex. For this reason, the Qintu Collab was formed to allow young queer people from a few African countries to come together, share experiences and create context-specific, queer-positive media that documents relatable stories about and for queer African youth. We see this as a necessary step in developing a complex archive of queer African life, whilst also personalising queer experiences and challenging prejudicial stereotypes. The Collab is made up of eighteen queer youth from Botswana, Kenya and Zimbabwe, two academics, three artists and a journalist. We first worked in small groups in each country through a range of creative participatory methods that focused on personal reflection and story-telling. Young people created personal timelines, and made visual maps of their bodies, relationships, and spaces. We then had group discussions about themes that emerged to help decide what to include in the comic works. At the end of 2018, we all came together in Nairobi, Kenya, for a week to collaborate on this comic book, and a set of podcasts on similar topics. We worked through various ways of telling stories, and developed significant themes, including family, religion and spirituality, social and online queer spaces, sex, and romantic relationships. Each young person created a script and laid out the scenes for a comic that told a short story from their lives. They then worked one-on-one with an artist to finesse those ideas into a workable comic, and the artists thereafter developed each story through multiple rounds of feedback from the story's creator and the rest of the group

#bgsu #pride month #queer history #juneteenth

[maddiviner]

[Book Review] Talking to Spirits by Sterling Moon

Sterling Moon's new book, Talking to Spirits, focuses on mediumship in all forms. Now, medium isn't a term I'd ever have used for myself. I always associate it with ghosts. Ghosts aren't really part of my spiritual life right now.

I have spirit companions, but they haven't ever been "alive" in the usual human sense. Quite a few are thoughtforms or egregores, but not ghosts. I've made altars for ancestors, the mighty dead, loved ones, etc... but I don't converse with them. Not like that.

I'm a spiritworker, in other words, but I don't talk to the dead. I venerate them, but I don't work with them. It doesn't call to me (for personal reasons).

Still, I figured I'd read this, and pick up some broad techniques for spirit communication. The author's personal definition of mediumship includes all spirit communication, not only departed human spirits. Much of the book does focus on ghosts, but, as noted, you can apply it elsewhere too.

I’d consider this book to be good for intermediate practitioners. A lot of what Sterling Moon teaches here builds upon foundational magical skills. You don't have to master those first, but you need some familiarity.

If you don’t find journaling comfortable or worthwhile, this might be one to skip. Almost all the exercises rely on journaling in some respect. You can adapt them to pure reflection, but to get the most from this book, you should journal.

The author talks about her journey towards greater understanding of her gifts. She's frank in her admission that her own path hasn't always been easy. This will resonate with a lot of us who've had similar struggles, especially these past few years.

Sterling Moon discusses how COVID19 affected her spiritual community and herself. It's good to see authors point out the effects of collective traumas on our practices. This kind of community shadow work is necessary, but rare. This is my favorite aspect of this book.

Some authors push a “do what feels right” approach to the point of leaving out what might be helpful advice. Sterling Moon carefully doesn’t do that, though.

Here's an example. She says that you shouldn't keep an ancestor altar with a partner (unless you have children). She explains her reasoning for this, and I ended up agreeing. I appreciate the bluntness; it even comes through in the writing style.

There’s the sense of “yes, you can do what feels right, but here is what I do, why, and what happens if I do it.”

This book actually addresses the issue of problematic ancestors, at least somewhat. The author believes that spirits sometimes can find ways to heal and grow after death. In other words, they might mend their ways beyond the grave. Some won't, of course, and that's acknowledged, too.

Sterling Moon has a nuanced take on the whole thing and how to handle the bad guys in your family tree. I don't have experience with this issue in ancestor worship, though, so I can't really speak about it. This book has a lot to say about intergenerational trauma and the spirit world, too - a good conversation to be having.

Having finished the book, I've still got no desire to work with ghosts. I didn't expect reading one book to change that. The subject (from a sort of armchair perspective) definitely interests me more now. I'd like to have read more about spirits potentially healing after death, but that's a huge subject. It could fill its own book.

I disagreed a bit with some of the author's metaphysics. That's beyond the scope of this review, though. I still enjoyed reading about it, and much of the book is still useful. The book presents a toolkit that leaves room for the reader’s own paradigm.

This approach has strengths and weaknesses. On one hand, it’s adaptable and fluid. But, it assumes a reader who's ready to fill in the blanks. Again, this isn't a book for beginners, exactly.

I’ve never been a particular fan of Spiritualism or physical mediumship. The book gives a short summary of the Fox Sisters incident. It also gives Sterling Moon’s theories about what might’ve actually been going on. It was a novel, interesting perspective.

It didn’t change my (skeptical) views on Spiritualism and physical mediumship. It made me a bit more sympathetic towards the Fox sisters themselves, though.

There's a section on “conjured spirits." That would be Sterling Moon's term for any spirit created by humans. There's a cool summary of the Philip Experiment, where a group "created" a ghost (named Phil). I won't spoil things, but it's one of many interesting anecdotes in this book.

I like that the author addresses this topic. For whatever reason, these created spirits seem more common nowadays. Witches might do well to learn to work with them. Working with "conjured spirits" has been part of my practices since the early 2000s.

I give this book three out of five stars. It's not all that accessible for newbies, but does it need to be? I'm not sure. I know that not every book needs to be designed for newbies.

I recommend it for the intermediate occult practitioner whose done some work with spirits. If you want to deepen spiritwork practices, this book can help.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing an ARC of this book for review purposes.

#witchblr #witchcraft #spiritual #magic #spirits #occult #spiritwork #books #book #book review #annobib #eliza reads #netgalley #sterling moon #talking to spirits

[pearwaldorf]

When I was a kid, every word that flowed from J. K. Rowling’s pen wrote magic into my world, but now every word she puts out just hurts my heart. Every homophobic or transphobic thing queer kids hear growing up becomes a voice that follows them for a long time. We hear relatives, friends, and parents say awful things about us and to us. For a lot of us, we fight those voices every day. When one of those voices comes from the author who taught you about accepting yourself, a person you thought truly saw you and kids like you, it hurts in a way I honestly hope she never understands. I wouldn’t wish it on anyone. I don’t hate her. It would honestly be easier if I did. Inside me somewhere, there’s a kid who still loves her despite everything. That kid has a lot of experience loving people who hurt her. She never asks why; she just wants to know what she did wrong and how she can fix it. It’s hard to tell her there’s nothing left to fix.

--Jaina Grey, Review: There Is No Magic in Hogwarts Legacy

This made me cry. Deep, heaving, snotty, undignified shit. It reminds me of another extraordinary piece of writing, also about another kind of intimate betrayal:

I picked up [my mentor's book] from my bookshelf and read and re-read that section. I felt a number of things. The strangest, most immediate was a version of pride. The man whose approval I had always wanted had decided I was good enough to rip off. I was sitting, with Fitzgerald, in the library in his head; my writing, like Tolstoy’s, had stuck with him, somewhere deep, and he had turned to it when he wanted to say something that he couldn’t say.

...

It hurt, and I was angry for what had happened to me and other writers – the way our labour had been co-opted, and not appropriately cited. Lots of people can imagine that hurt, I assume. But I can’t imagine that many other people understand the way it felt good, too.

These are linked to me because they are about how we grapple with treachery from people who we have loved, perhaps still do, but have done us severe? grievous? deep harm. It's a tricky subject, and I am thankful there are people who can discuss it with such eloquence, thought, and grace.

At this point I don't think there's much I personally can say that will convince you to do or not do something re: the wizard game. It's not my job to make you feel better about something you probably know isn't right in your heart of hearts, or make you confront the gap between your stated ideals and concrete actions. I also think talking about playing the game in public means you have to accept the consequences that come with that.

I do hope you reflect on your relationship with the corpus of work and its author as much as these writers have, because I think you owe them and yourself at least that much.

#jaina grey #joseph earp #behave yourselves if you're going to interact with this post #i have no fucking tolerance for malarkey of any kind right now #jk rowling for ts #harry potter for ts #hogwarts legacy for ts

[new-components]

su review

so I read the first entry in su, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz: Toki Pona Edition by Sonja Lang. i have many positive thoughts about it

my perspective of the book is coming from someone who would consider itself roughly a beginner-intermediate toki pona-knower, and someone who had very little knowledge of the original story going in.

the book is very clearly an abridged version of the story (and paraphrasing jan Sonja, super-fans of the original Oz might be a bit disappointed at cut ideas), but it didn't feel like a dry synopsis. i found it easy and enjoyable to get into the story, and this was helped a lot by the wonderful illustrations by Evan Dahm! the book is also fully bilingual in toki pona written in sitelen pona, and a literal translation of that back into English (partially to help beginners, partially because of publication restrictions). i found myself occasionally using the english back-translations to make sure i was on the right track understanding things, especially as it was the longest toki pona text i had read up to this point. perfect for me- but absolute beginners will likely struggle.

it's worth noting that jan Sonja has stated that "su" refers to a series of books that jan Sonja plans on writing- with the wizard of oz being the first entry in that series. i look forward to finding out what the next entries she writes are!

kon toki:

I found the writing style fun to read. very deliberately matter of fact/terse as a lot of toki pona writing is in my experience- but it didn't shy away from clever wordplay, evocative descriptions, and emotional writing. "waso laso kin li pana e sike mama laso" made me smile and tense moments had a degree of grave weight and the writing reflected that. a simple "pakala" can be devastating. jan Sonja is a clever writer, and is very proficient with the language, and it shines through in the book.

as for how well it represents the original story- i can't say as i'm not very familiar with it! everything I knew about Oz was in there but that was mostly "there is a metal guy and Dorothy and Kansas and a green city". the illustrations by Evan Dahm really brought the book to life and helped me have confidence that I was understanding the words, giving context to them.

nasin sitelen:

the formatting of the sitelen pona text was a delight to read and i think is a model that should be considered by all tokiponists writing in sitelen pona. there are no special punctuation symbols and sentences are broken by line breaks. when a subject has multiple li predicates, the li phrases are often indented to be in line with each other to break up the text and make it clear they're applying to the same subject. there is no use of compound glyphs making it easy to understand. name cartouches are written with one glyph per letter (which is to say, sitelen kalama is not used), which makes names long but also means there was ample opportunity to make the symbols fit each character, group, and place. Dorothy's (jan Towasi) cartouche for example is "tomo olin wile alasa suwi ijo", which i feel fits her character and narrative very well! names are abbreviated to the first letter after their first use in a chapter.

as for uncommon words/glyphs, there are a few! majuna, lanpan, namako, and one other i can think of but don't want to spoil make appearances. the glyph for majuna was one i was unfamiliar with but i do like it! also, a quad-luka variant of mute for use in the information page for writing "2024" using nasin nanpa pona. one neat nasin was using two glyphs for sewi: a secular variant that is similar to the other positional words for where it is meaning "up" or "above", and the pu variant for a mention of a divine/holy thing.

beginners may find these rarer words and alternate glyphs slightly challenging- but i think the back-translation will help a lot in identifying any unfamiliar words. jan Sonja is also making/made a sitelen pona lookup page which, while i've seen similar materials already, is notable in the context of su because it uses all the same glyphs as su (or at least in Oz.) i half-expected something like this to exist as an appendix in the book proper, but i didn't miss it too much, most books don't have a dictionary in the back after all!

pini:

all in all i highly recommend the book to toki pona learners who are past the absolute beginner level and are looking for an actual Thing to read. absolute beginners will likely struggle to understand it as it is not a reference of the language itself, unlike pu or ku, especially if they took the approach of learning the language as written in sitelen Lasina first and learning sitelen pona later.

still, out of the three jan Sonja books i think it is probably the most valuable to learning. there are many guides to toki pona vocabulary and grammar out there, some of which i would argue are probably more up-to-date and comprehensive than pu (that's not to say that pu isn't useful, but it isn't essential to learning the language in a way that maybe it once was) and ku, while a good reference for the semantic space of words and figuring out translation, does not have any full examples of written toki pona and so its use learning practical toki pona as it is written and spoken is somewhat limited.

su, so far, is a great jumping point after learning the basics of toki pona and getting to read actual story written in it and learning through that. full stories written in toki pona, while not unheard of, are pretty scarce, doubly so stories by proficient storytellers, translators, and toki pona speakers, and so su is a very welcome addition to the bibliography. i am excited to see what jan Sonja makes next!

i give the wizard of oz: toki pona edition a "pona a!"

#toki pona #su #the wizard of oz

[bunnidid-reviews]

DID Book Review

Facts –

Title:  First Person Plural

Author: Cameron West, Ph. D

Date of Publication: 1999

Fiction or Nonfiction: Nonfiction, a Memior of the author’s personal life

Was there a diagnosis of DID? Yes, the therapist diagnosis him explicitly with Dissociative Identity Disorder

Is the person with DID portrayed as being evil? No, but there is some self-loathing for having this diagnosis all throughout

Major Trigger list:

-          Self harm (cutting, blood) (Explicitly described, starts in the first chapter)

-          Incestuous Sexual Abuse (Explicitly described many times throughout)

-          Physical Abuse(only mentioned in one chapter, but it was triggering to me)

-          Emotional abuse

-          Forced eating disorder (explicit, but only one chapter mentions it)

-          Surgical/medical details that are pretty gross tbh

-          Self-loathing, internalized ableism

-          A couple of perfectly fine sex scenes, but there’s one that stops when a little switches out

-          Vague mentions of suicide

-          Denial

-          Feeling like a burden/relationship strains from one partner having DID

Subjective Review(this is how I felt about it) -

Personal triggering scale from 1 to 10 (1 being not triggering at all, 10 being a badly overwhelming experience that might cause personal harm): 6-7(probably higher for other people)

Personal relatability scale from 1 to 10 (1 being unrelatable, 10 being OMG THAT’S ME!): ack, like 9

Personal avoidance scale from 1 to 10(1 being eager to get on with it, 10 being impossible to finish): 2-3(probably much higher in normal situations)

My interpretation of the media(Includes spoilers):

First Person Plural is a personal memoir by Cameron West, that follows his and his wife’s story of his diagnosis and trying to raise their young child amidst the chaos. It’s not a fictional story, so I don’t know how to go about judging it really, so bear with me.

First Person Plural is a very explicit book. It’s not only explicit for the trauma, the same level of description reaches around all aspects of the story. As such, it can seem a little awkwardly written when he describes himself, the people around him, and his inner experiences. It really feels like you’re reading his pure thought process on a page, really. It can be a little hard to follow, but it makes sense to me the way that DID just does. Symbolic, attached to things in important little ways that all kinda make sense, at least to ourselves.

I’d been reading this book while going through my own very triggering week of understanding and accepting(tentatively) my own incestuous past, so it’s hard to gauge how triggering it will be for other people. In many ways it’s the only thing that could really reach with me. It was a board of wood I clung to in a stormy sea. I blew through all my normal avoidance and triggers as a result.

I wanted to be honest there as a reflection of the book – it does not fuck around with vague words for abuse or is hesitant to name exactly what it was – incest, rape, childhood sexual abuse. I assume this bold use of wording is a greater reflection of Cam’s overarching acceptance that happens by the end of the book. He’s no longer in denial when he’s writing this. I imagine it must’ve been empowering for him to write it all out like this in a sense. But again, if this is really triggering for you, there will be better books out there.

-

Alright, the story. We come into it with the first chapter that clearly takes place much later into the process with an explicit self harm scene.

When it goes back to the start, we’re met with Cam and his wife and their son, and they’re a very happy and normal family. But Cam’s chronically sick with a sinus infection of sorts and has had multiple surgeries but to no avail. (It’s kind of a little-talked about aspect of having a severe trauma disorder; many of us are physically ill because there’s simply nowhere else to go with this stress than to internalize it into our bodies. The body keeps the score, right?) He seeks help with something more experimental, which eventually leads him to having therapy, and seemingly his constant physical illness is lifted in time as he delves into the core of his issues: mental illness.

Cam starts having cryptic depersonalization episodes where he starts watching himself do things that he wouldn’t do himself – hiding in the closet, writing notes In the night, hearing voices, ect ect. The ‘just discovering’ phase of his healing process Is veryyy relatable to how it was for me. A lot of ‘what the fuck!!!!!’ and no words to describe it. He starts having explicit flashbacks too, reliving memories very quickly and delving into them in therapy.

His wife, Rikki, is alongside Cam through all of it. She’s as open-minded as she can be for someone who didn’t know a lot about DID to begin with. She’s very accepting and fairly welcome to parts being around her so long as it’s not around their young son. A good few of the chapters are in her point-of-view, and her struggles and grief as they go through all this together and feels the weight of helplessness especially when things seem like they only get worse and worse. It gave me a bigger appreciation for my fiancé, who’s been in the exact same position for years with me (minus having a kid)

Denial and acceptance are a major theme of the book overall, and as it progresses deeper in, it feels as though the denial grows stronger and more insistent. Fearful of ‘the mess he’d made’ by exploring the diagnosis of DID, Cameron tried for a long time to suppress having symptoms, and finds himself self-harming very regularly and growing more distant from Rikki. The body and parts keep the score, and ignoring them and pretending they’ll all go away will only do more harm than good, after all. I’m thankful he was honest about all this, it was enlightening to read, but it must’ve been hard to accept having a personal hold on Denial’s Rake like that.

The climax is when Cam finally accepts his diagnosis and all parts of himself after a very confronting stay at a Collin Ross Institute in Texas. Not only Cam accepts his diagnosis, but the other parts come to when they realize they’re all patients there and learn to accept eachother. The therapist there helps him explain more clearly the weight of his acceptance and constant efforts to Rikki, and they have a happy ending.

I really liked the ending where he got ice cream for himself, and spoons for each of his parts to enjoy in the privacy of all of them with themselves 😊 It feels like something I’d do too and was kind of a beautiful and simple conclusion to say he’s going to love himself from here out. It was extremely satisfying!

This book is not an easy read, but since I was in that very same dark place once again, it really was the only thing that reached down into my depths and met me where I’m at. No trigger warnings, no fucking around. I’m glad I read it, even though it was intense.

That said, I wasn’t actually going to rate memoirs on this blog very much because I know they’ll probably be some of the most intense. I plucked up books purely as they showed up in my search on the library app, and I’d seen the title so many times I wasn’t actually sure what it was going to be! Lol oops. Oh well, now you have a new Bunnib review

What they got Right(relatable/up to date) in my opinion:

-Chronic illness being a major part of a survivor’s life seems pretty accurate, just going off what I see with me and my friends (hi)

-The diagnosis was accurate, all the linguistics seemed up to date if that’s important to you. I like that rather than calling them a system, he calls them My Guys. (makes me think of the Personas/the Council for me). There are several points throughout the story that its explained by therapists, his wife and himself where they explain accurately what DID is and how the name was changed from Multiple Personalities to Dissociative Identity Disorder.

-The way Cam switches with other parts tends not to be fully blacked out, most instances seem to have some level of coconsciousness  and inner communication. I just found that and the descriptions of where Cam ‘went’ as a result to be very relatable too

-There’s a lot I could say was Right just because it was lived experience he’s talking about. There’s probably a lot lot lot more I could write here, I’m just getting tired and spacey =o=; the whole book is filled with ‘yup, that checks out’ to me

What they got Wrong(Unrealistic/out of date) in my opinion:

-It Is lived experience but I don’t think in most cases, knowing you have DID actually clears up most chronic illnesses. I’m not skeptical of how his worked out, but I wouldn’t think of this as a broad stroke for every trauma survivor

-I don’t know if it’s kind of a recent change, but right away getting into therapy, Cam’s processing trauma rather than going through the stabilization phases of DID-specialist trauma therapy. Again, lived experience, but its not a wonder it was so rough going through it like this.

…Honestly, I’d love to know if anyone has done the stabilization phase before hitting some huge trauma roadbumps though. My experience was very similar to Cam’s, but.. cut short.

 Would I recommend this to someone with DID to read?:  Yes. Minding the heavy trigger warnings. It was noted in the end of the book, that if it made anyone struggling through the same feel seen and heard, then the book’s done it’s job. I would say it has for me so I’d recommend it to anyone who’s interested.

#dissociative identity disorder #actuallydid #dissociative identity disorder media #first person plural #cameron west ph. d #DID in media #did in books #bunnidid reviews

[margridarnauds]

The Review That The Medievalists Don't Want You To See

Well. I never thought that THAT was a title that I'd be putting on a review, given that, as a medievalist, a lot of my public outreach work involves, specifically, disproving the notion that we're all a bunch of old, straight, rich, white men, but...every once in a while...academia proves me wrong.

Some people on medievalbr might be aware of the works of Dr. Mary Rambaran-Olm, a black medievalist who is well known for calling out racism in the academy, especially for her work leading the discussion on the racist use of the term "Anglo Saxon" to describe the inhabitants and period of time in early medieval English history. She has faced a lot of harassment, both from white supremacists outside the field and racists in the field, who get uncomfortable whenever someone comes along to upset a status quo that benefits them

Dr. Rambaran-Olm was recently asked to write a review for an upcoming book, The Bright Ages, by David M. Perry and Matthew Gabriele, which purports to "refute common misperceptions of the European Middle Ages, showing the beauty and communion that flourished alongside the dark brutality—a brilliant reflection of humanity itself." She did as requested and wrote a lengthy review that criticized aspects of how the book dealt with its subject matter, a review that was then shut down, first for "word count", then for "lack of generosity". (Aka "It was balanced and presented critiques as opposed to being uniformly positive"...which is supposed to be the purpose of a professional academic review, we aren't exactly working according to the kudos system here.)

(The full email correspondence is available on Dr. Rambaran-Olm's twitter, here.)

Dr. Rambaran-Olm has published a review on medium, and, in the final few paragraphs, has this to say, as a measure of exactly what the editors of the publication were concerned about:

The Bright Ages may not exclusively be for white readers, but it certainly is for neoliberal readers who want to believe they are progressive and demand superficial fixes to complex problems and issues. For what it’s worth, I don’t think there’s any illusion that the book aims to convert white supremacists with this material, nor would any book really be able to achieve that. Still, it’s a safe book for a receptive liberal audience. It’s not a radical book, but that must be accepted at this moment, because the field is not ready for anything particularly radical.

Terrifying.

It should be noted that "read this with a critical eye" should be part and parcel of reading any book on the middle ages. If they wanted their book to get a shred of the respect they seem to believe it merits, they would understand this. This is intended to be a textbook for a general audience, but it doesn't include footnotes, citations, or, apparently, any room for critical thinking, especially from the people of color that it claims to support. She deserves better, and so does the public.

Since coming forward about her experiences, she has faced a lot of harassment from inside the field. Everyone involved on the other end of this has been very mature about the entire thing, blocking reviews from anyone pointing out what's happened. There have been allegations that she is not really a medievalist, that she's not even really black. (If she isn't a medievalist, neither are any of us, and...as someone who's seen her speak in person, I can say that she is most definitely black, as her various photos suggest. It shows how low they're willing to go.)

For years, a goal of academics has been to say "this isn't who we are as a field." But the system's rotten, right down to the foundation. I can't say that academia as an institution isn't racist and colonialist, it is. However, in that same vein, acting like all academics are a hivemind ultimately only benefits the worst of the batch. Instead, I would urge people to follow Dr. Rambaran-Olm and scholars like her that are trying to tear down the field from the inside.

#mary rambaran-olm #the bright ages #medievalblr #the middle ages #medieval

[xtruss]

There Was an Underground Magazine for Transgender Women in the 1960s! Transvestia's Archives Provide a Window onto a Hidden World

— June 22, 2023 | Kirstin Butler | Casa Susanna | Article | American Experience

The cover of the August 1966 issue of Transvestia magazine.

In the first month of a new decade, a Los Angeles chemist named Virginia Prince mailed out the inaugural issue of a magazine. It was, as the title page of the January 1960 edition of Transvestia states, a privately printed journal “with three objectives: to provide EXPRESSION for those interested in the subjects of exotic and unusual dress and fashion; to provide INFORMATION to those who, through ignorance, condemn that which they do not understand,” and, finally, “to provide EDUCATION for those who see evil where none exists.” With these oblique statements, Prince launched what would become the first long-running periodical for male-to-female crossdressers and transgender women in the United States.

Over its 25-year print run, Transvestia grew from 25 initial subscribers to several hundred distributed across the U.S. Most readers received their bi-monthly issues through the mail, though after 1963 the magazine could also be found in alternative and adult bookstores and newsstands in major American cities. Prince was the magazine’s driving force and served as editor until 1979, but Transvestia’s contents were as much by its readers as for them. Subscribers submitted life histories, letters, editorials, book reviews and photographs of themselves. They had their own jargon: “TV” for transvestite, “GG” for “genetic girls,” “brother” for their male identities and the “girl-within,” to refer to their feminine selves; some readers also used “femmepersonator” or “FP” for short. Prince also reprinted medical papers on topics such as gender identity and the psychology of cross-dressing.

Each issue typically ran around 80 pages, with several dedicated to advertisements for various goods—self-published books, custom undergarments and wigs—and services such as electrolysis and makeup consultation. “Perhaps there are no good stores in your town. Perhaps you are too well known,” offered one advertisement for a personal shopper. “Perhaps you need an unusual size and would be embarrassed to ask for it. Whatever the reason, I can help.” Every issue also contained a “Person to Person” section where subscribers could connect with one another. “Lifelong TV, married, 34, scientist, welcomes all correspondence with all TV’s foreign or domestic,” reads a listing by Barbara, a reader from southern New England, in the December 1965 issue.

An optician’s ad in Transvestia’s October 1969 Issue.

Transvestia was an outlet for creative writing as well. A piece of fiction in the magazine’s first issue told the story of a married couple enjoying a night out, both husband and wife dressed in traditionally feminine attire: “The sound of my high heels matching hers, the sight of my frock swirling beside hers, made us feel as one…sensing the fragrance of the real woman so close to me, the distinction between ‘man’ and ‘woman’ vanished like smoke in a high wind.” Prince herself contributed a poem to that issue, composing on a theme that would recur in many other editions of the magazine—the relief experienced upon transforming from masculine to feminine archetypal expectations and presentation.

Poems in the January 1960 and March 1961 issues of Transvestia.

In fact, several subjects appeared with a great deal of regularity throughout Transvestia’s pages. Dr. R.S. Hill, a professor at Concordia University, authored a seminal study of the magazine as his dissertation. Reflecting on Transvestia’s most oft-recurring content, Dr. Hill wrote, “The letters and histories endlessly elaborated on the same themes and topics: theorizing the causes of their condition; crossdressing for the first time; overcoming obstacles to free expression; dealing with guilt, fear, or loneliness; disclosing to or hiding from parents, wives, and children; venturing out in public; passing successfully as women without public detection; describing articles of clothing, wardrobes, and bodily measurements; and sharing fashion and make-up advice.”

Through the magazine, Transvestia readers forged a group consciousness, united not just by mutual interests but also for their common demography: The majority of subscribers were white, middle-to-professional-class, and considered themselves heterosexual. Most were married and had children. Some spoke of cross-dressing as just a relaxing “hobby” they occasionally enjoyed. But a substantial number would come to identify as women over the course of the journal’s publication, including Prince herself as well as contributing editor Susanna Valenti. Prince wrote about that decision in her final issue as editor in 1979, saying, “I figured that since I had learned pretty much all I needed to know about being a man in this world, that I might just as well devote the rest of my life to exploring the other side of my own humanity…That was in June of 1968 and I have lived as Virginia ever since.”

All of the magazine’s readers agreed that the practice of cross-dressing allowed them to access their most vibrant selves. “I have been married, have fathered five children, and am about to become a Grandpa any day now,” said the magazine’s 1962 covergirl Eileen in an accompanying personal history. “The men I work with are all hairy chested so-and-so types, and have accepted me into their ranks without question. Yet, when I rush home from the office and enter my own world of delight, that is when I truly live.”

Transvestia subscriber Eileen graced the cover of the magazine's August 1962 Issue.

The Publisher

Having been through a great deal of pain, fear, guilt, loneliness and frustration in my life I wanted to help others to avoid or conquer these feelings. My tool for doing this has been Transvestia.” — Virginia Prince, Transvestia, Vol. 3 No. 16, August 1962

Born in 1912, Virginia Prince was the highly opinionated, often irascible godmother of Transvestia’s print pages and its extended real-life network. After launching the magazine, she also founded a national sorority for other crossdressers in 1962 called Phi Pi Epsilon—or FPE, which also stood for Full Personality Expression. This later became Tri-Ess, or the Society for the Second Self, an international crossdressing organization that still exists to this day. Prince frequently gave interviews to American and international media and liaised with medical professionals about the practice of cross-dressing.

The magazine’s “Person to Person” section was restricted to FPE sorority members to ensure correspondents’ safety.

Prince’s primary goal was to destigmatize cross-dressing; and she utilized the magazine as well as FPE to create a conservative bulwark against other, competing forms of transgender life and community in the United States in the 1960s. “Prince wanted to socialize individual ‘deviance,’” said Dr. Hill, “to place transvestism within a group context, domesticate it, and normalize it by promoting the radical idea that transvestites were not immoral, sexual deviants but rather normal, respectable citizens with only a harmless gender variation.” Even the name of Prince’s regular column in the magazine, “Virgin Views,” was part of her plan to de-eroticize a lifestyle that included cross-dressing by linking it to connotations of purity.

Already within a year of Transvestia’s genesis, Prince had assumed the role of self-appointed moral arbiter. “We must keep our own house clean and above reproach,” she asserted in the magazine’s March 1961 issue. In a repressive Cold War context where heteronormative standards reigned, that meant distancing cross-dressing from other gender and sexual subcultures: “We all know that the world confuses transvestism and homosexuality and when there is a campaign against the latter we are caught in the crossfire.” Prince asked readers to police themselves and each other, saying, “you come into the future of the magazine, not just by way of financial support and contributions of material, but by being a watchdog too.”

Prince’s column in the December 1965 issue included her portrait.

As part of her desire to domesticate transvestism, Prince also sought out and published writings by transvestites’ female partners. Some were tender—thus supporting Prince’s respectability campaign—as in an account from a wife about her husband’s transformation to “Betty Lynn, the Blonde Bombshell.” “I can’t understand why anyone wouldn’t want another dimension to their love,” wrote Fran. Still, the majority of Transvestia readers spoke of fraught negotiations around their cross-dressing, sometimes ending in the dissolution of marriage.

The narrative Prince espoused through Transvestia initially held that the goal of transvestism should be an exercised balance of masculine and feminine identities, with each having its own separate opportunity for expression. “[T]ry to employ perspective in seeing FemmePersonation as an adjunct to your masculine personality, not a substitute for it,” she suggested in her August 1962 “Virgin Views” column. “Transvestia does not exist for the purpose of impairing or destroying the masculine but rather to allow those who are aware of their feminine side to extract the full benefits from it. We can experience some of the feminine side of life, express part of our personality that way, and be better persons and citizens for it IF we…keep the whole matter in balance and under control.”

She advised against medical interventions such as hormone therapy and what was then known as sex reassignment surgery, saying, in 1965, “I realized that surgery would be a form of suicide not only for my masculine self but for Virginia too since it would cut the ground (as well as other things) out from under her…being a woman some of the time is wonderful, having to be one all the time would not be half as great as it seems to be from a distance.” As Dr. Hill writes, “‘transsexuality’ is everywhere in Transvestia as a category against which the ‘true transvestites’ defined themselves.”

Transvestia’s October 1962 cover featured photos of its first two years of cover models—“The composite cover of 12 livin’ dolls.” Prince’s is the largest photo in the center.

Over the coming years, however, Prince’s position would shift from this earlier dichotomous gender model to an identity where one’s masculine and feminine selves were merged into an integrated whole. “[V]ery little in life is tied up hard and fast with the fact that one is male or female,” she wrote in the August 1966 issue, adding “that the ideas of man and woman and masculine and feminine are cultural inventions for all their as­sumed usefulness.” Her views on gender had gradually become more flexible.

By June 1968, Prince had come to a decision to live full-time as a woman. Assembling the magazine, she said later, was what had allowed her to arrive at that turning point. “In trying to help you, my readers, I have learned and grown myself,” she wrote in the magazine’s 100th anniversary issue in 1979, which was largely dedicated to “The Life and Times of Virginia,” her personal history. “I am now a whole person, completely self accepting and at ease…[M]y best hopes and good wishes to all of you—may you, too, find the acceptance and the internal peace that we all need, and with that I say farewell.”

Susanna Says

But enough of philosophising…let's gossip!” — “Susanna Says,” Transvestia, Vol. 7 No. 40, August 1966

Where Virginia Prince was Transvestia’s reigning West Coast intellectual, Susanna Valenti, the magazine’s contributing editor, was its East Coast bon vivant. Her regular column, “Susanna Says,” contained social news, fashion tips and advice, all served up with attitude and pointed humor. “I most certainly have particular people in mind whenever I unsheath a journalistic claw,” she wrote in February 1963, in response to what some readers deemed her “cattish remarks.” “Where would the fun be,” she protested, “if people could not see themselves mirrored in the printed page?”

For Valenti, criticism also had a noble purpose. She offered cosmetic and comportment tips—informing her readers about the right ways to walk, how to soften their voices and what pressed powders to wear—because those elements would allow them to more safely present to a world threatening arrest and violence. “Sorry, my friends, to sound so mean,” she demurred in that same column. “[S]omebody has to pour out a bucketful of cold, merciless realism, just to remind ourselves that the world is not entirely made of pretty clouds and blue skies. There’s also mud and hard pavement under our feet.” If being “read”—common community parlance for being discovered while dressed—was the greatest danger, and “passing”successfully as female would ensure their protection, then Valenti would scold Transvestia subscribers into shape.

Virginia included this image of herself and Susanna in Tranvestia’s 100th anniversary Issue.

“[P]resent as smooth an image as possible,” “Susanna Says” advised in 1965. “In some areas there's nothing we can do about—height, skeletal frame, feet, hands, muscles, etc—but in those areas where something can be done, there's just no excuse if we don't at least make an effort.” Valenti spoke at length about her own efforts: wardrobe alterations, dance classes and diets. For her, moral improvement could be achieved by means of aesthetic perfection—and why not enjoy oneself doing it? “The real fun about being a TV,” she proclaimed, “is in the CONSTANT IMPROVING.”

The April 1965 issue continued a feature that spanned several editions called “What Should I Wear?” and contained tutorials on wardrobe color, shape and style, including guides to neckline types and hem lengths.

Like Prince, Valenti had a significant community presence both on and off the page. In the very first issue of Transvestia, she announced that she and her wife Marie were opening a private retreat at their property in the Catskill Mountains catering specifically to Transvestia’s audience; the “Chevalier d’Eon Resort” was named after an 18th-century French crossdressing spy. “Change clothes as many times as you want, stay inside or go out—in short, do as you please and ‘LIVE.’ Even hairdressing help will be available,” promised the announcement. “What more can you ask? This sounds more like fiction than a lot of fiction, but it's real!” Indeed, over the next decade, Marie and Susanna would run what eventually became the eponymous “Casa Susanna,” which became the East Coast hub for crossdressers and a burgeoning transgender community.

Valenti, who had adopted Prince’s script against transitioning, also came to change her position with the changing times. She announced her own decision to live full-time as a woman in Tranvestia’s October 1969 issue. “I’ve ceased feeling that fabulous thrill of the change itself,” Valenti said of her part-time transitions back and forth from Susanna to her male identity. “It’s only fabulous in one direction: from HIM to HER. But the reverse from HER to HIM, is becoming more and more painful. It actually depresses me… To be ‘her’ is quite different. Energy seems to flow into me from all directions, and no matter what activity I engage in, I never seem to tire…I cannot speak of thrills, but of a peace and contentment that I find nowhere else.”

Susanna Valenti announced a momentous personal decision in her column for the October 1969 Issue.

Still, her final words in the magazine were more equivocal. A decade later, in 1979, Valenti reprised her column once more at Prince’s request for the centennial issue. “One hundred years! Or is it one hundred issues of TVia?” Valenti mused. “It really seems like a century ago we started groping in the confusion of our lives for a truth and a self-definition. We followed the same pattern that modern youth seems to have found, the eternal question of ‘who am I’?” Then she took stock of the gains Transvestia had won for her community, saying, “We seem to have moved forward to a certain extent. A good number of people, many more than there were one hundred issues ago, know about us. The moral ‘liberation’ of our times seems to have helped somewhat, too.

“But,” she concluded, “we ask ourselves, have we really become liberated? Have we really become understood? Accepted?”

[lambdalibrary]

June 1st: Fun Home

[Image ID: The cover of the book Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic. A stack of three photos on top of a leafy green background. The bottom two photos are obscured and the top photo shows a young Alison Bechdel and her father, both in shorts and t shirts, on the porch of their home. Alison is looking directly at the reader and her father looks to the left. On top of the photo is a business card displaying the title of the novel. At the top of the cover is a quote from Entertainment Weekly saying "A splendid autobiography . . . refreshingly open and generous." End ID.]

Trigger Warnings

Homophobia, child abuse, grooming of minors, suicide

Summary

Fun home is Alison Bechdel's, of Dykes to Watch Out For fame, graphic novel memoir about herself and her relationship to her father, complicated by the fact that both of them are gay. In that way, its a portrayal of two generations of LGBT culture as Bechdel reflects on both her father's experiences as a closeted gay man and hers as a butch lesbian and ultimately where it lead the two of them. There's a line in the musical adaption that I feel captures both the tone and summary of the novel well, "My dad and I both grew up in the same, small Pennsylvania town. And he was gay, and I was gay. And he... killed himself. And I... became a lesbian cartoonist," from "Welcome to Our House on Maple Avenue."

Link to the novel and link to the musical OST

Review

Okay here's where I can start gushing about this book. Fun Home amazing, its a very heavy and complicated read but I can't recommend it enough. Its a book that really resonates with me as a butch lesbian myself with a... complicated relationship with my straight but still father and AUGH! Its funny and its poignant and its difficult and something I'm not sure how to talk about which is why the summary is so robotic but what is there to say? Except just god read it <3 Because its a graphic novel it goes by pretty quickly too and is an easy read (subject matter aside) so its a great place to start if you're not interested in reading something that will take forever and yeah...yeah :)

[Image ID: Two panels from Fun Home. The top panel shows a young Alison and her father in a diner booth in the background. In the foreground a fat, masculine woman stands in front of a worker at the diner signing for packages. There are two captions, one at the top and the bottom. The top caption reads "I didn't know there were women who wore men's clothes and had men's haircuts." The bottom reads, "But like a traveler in a foreign country who runs into someone from home -- someone they've never spoken to, but know by sight -- I recognized her with a surge of joy."

The bottom panel shows a close up of Alison and her father in the booth. It's captioned, "Dad Recognized her too." Alison's father leans forward and asks her, "Is that what you want to look like?" End ID.]

#bookblr #comic books #book review #fun home #lgbtq #pride month #lesbian #gay #lgbt books #alison bechdel #graphic novel #butch #book recommendations #book rec list #fun fact if i scheduled this right it should post as im in an appointment to move forward with top surgery :)

[brown-little-robin]

Sources on fanfiction, transformative works, and cognitive narratology for @lovesodeepandwideandwell​! You gave me the tiny excuse I needed to finally assemble my sources for this, and I have a Lot.

This (https://journal.transformativeworks.org/index.php/twc/issue/archive) is the archive of the Organization for Transformative Works’ journal. It’s open access, and there’s probably some usable stuff for you there, but of course it’s a biased source XD

OTW sources

Articles from the OTW’s archive that I found interesting on a glance include:

An article on “Fan Binding”, the transformation of fanfiction into physical book, with reflection on what that says about fanfiction as not just a digital phenomenon and also on fan binding an another expression of “the fandom gift economy”.

A short study on how fandom members seek out information!

Review of a book on fanfiction as “emotioned literacy”, as opposed to the masculinist perspective that elevates mind over body and logic over emotions (especially in engagement with literature). “Loving Fanfiction: Exploring the Role of Emotion in Online Fandoms” is the name of the book.

Articles

On fanfiction, I have a few sources. I have more on narrative gaps: the holes in stories where the reader puts their own meaning. I also have lots of sources on cognitive narratology: how people mentally engage with stories. Please ask if you want more sources on narrative gaps—I have a ton—so just ask if you’d like me to send some. Here are some things that might be relevant to your article in no particular order:

The Construction of Literary Character: A View from Cognitive Psychology. Gerrig, Richard J., and David W. Allbritton. This article is fantastic for a psychological explanation of why people think of fictional characters as real people and how they engage with stories—using James Bond as an example! (I have some notes on this one typed up for my professor, who used my labor to brain through all the articles and type up easy notes and pull quotes she could use; I’ll send them to you if you like.) This could easily be used to demonstrate some related truths about fanfiction! We use it the exact same way!

“Fanfiction as imaginary play: What fan-written stories can tell us about the cognitive science of fiction”, by Jennifer L. Barnes. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.poetic.2014.12.004. This is another cognitive narratology one, with a solid base in academic psychology, examining how people engage with media beyond just viewing / reading it, including the widespread phenomenon of people daydreaming about media. Play is so underrated as something natural and good for adults...

“Minding the gap: visual perception and cinematic gap filling”, an excellent article on narrative gaps as they appear in film.

Book Sources

I’d like to especially recommend “Storytelling and the Sciences of Mind”, a foundational cognitive narratology book by David J. Herman. It’s long (of course), but so worth reading if you want a good foundation for the subject of how people engage with stories. It’s divided into two parts: “worlding the story”, about how people bring their own experiences and needs into the story to interpret and envision it, and then “storying the world”, where people use stories to interpret the world and make decisions based on story frameworks.

During my narratology research, I also used the Routledge Encyclopedia of Narrative Theory, edited by David Herman, author of the Storytelling and the Sciences of Mind book. It’s a good resource for any confusion about narratology terms (there’s so many...). Sadly, I don’t have a link for that one yet.

Also, I’m currently reading a book called “Pictures and visuality in early modern China” by Craig Clunas. If you want to get a non-Western perspective on the meaning of art, chapter 4 is an excellent resource! Apparently, in Ming China, elites were expected to intelligently discuss art, drawing conclusions from it and sharing it with others. AND!! Copying other painters and even their individual paintings was a valuable and completely valid way to pay tribute to them and to improve one’s own skills!!! (I have got to get an exact quote for this because this is world-shattering.) Also see this quote from the conclusion: “The Western tradition of viewing and understanding, at least until very recently, seeks to ground the meaning in the objects viewed, to see it as a container for the meaning poured into it at the time of manufacture. If as I have argued... the Chinese epistemology grounds knowing in the knower, seeing in the person who sees, connoisseurship in the connoisseur, than attempts to deal with the essence of Ming Chinese painting, no matter how subtle, cannot but be misreadings of the manner in which they were created and brought to view. Such a misreading has perhaps a long European history behind it.” (Clunas 171).

(as you can maybe tell, I am currently going a little insane about the differences between Chinese and Western culture about art & story.)

Keywords You Could Look Into

Okay, this might seem weird, but a lot of my struggles with my research last summer was just. Not knowing what to look for. So I’m listing some keywords and theories that might unlock some good sources for you. I haven’t looked into any of these fully, so no guarantees, but here they are.

Ricoeur's theory of mimesis (cognitive narratology)—derives from Greek philosophy (specifically Plato) and fuels a lot of cognitive narratology theorization. It’s about how humans construct and then apply meaning to things like stories. It’s a three-stage process.

Fabula and storyworld are terms for the constructed reality the reader makes up in their head after reading a text. Those would be interesting terms to look into when you’re looking at how people consider things “canon” or “headcanon” and all the fascinating complexities of the different ways people view stories and derivative stories.

(for myself, I’d like to look into historical fanfiction, such as myth-making and adaptations of fairy tales and such. I’d also love to have sources on superheroes with regards to fanfiction! but I don’t, sadly.)

Okay! I have told you about my best sources, I think.

#long post #cognitive narratology #on fanfiction

[ymread]

The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck

Title: The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck

Author: Mark Manson

Genre: Nonfiction

Date Published: September 13, 2016

Rating: 2.5 / 5

Overview:

               The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck is a self-help book that basically tells us to reflect on our life and filter the important ones from the unimportant and choose what and where to give a f*ck because our f*cks are limited (to choose our struggle and to only choose what matters). This book is emphasizing that problems are constant in life – it never stops and it’s fine not to be positive all the time. Pain, rejections, and failures will always be part of the process of living a good and better life.

Remarks: I am a wrong audience of this book.

This book is overly hyped and has constantly heard of its reputation since then, it did piqued my curiosity and interest and for no absolute reason it was only this time did I pick up this book. When I started reading I thought it was brilliantly written, the writing style is unique maybe because the author is mainly a blogger (it feels like I am reading a long long blog). The first paragraph is a hook! Yet just like any other books, readers may find some flaws and gets disengaged as we flipped through the pages, and when I get to the middle part, there are certain narratives of his that I disagree with mainly because the book is too practically universal nothing new and subjective that it made me lose interest, his narrative is generally speaking from his lens centered and generalized from his own experiences (some of them is not applicable to others) and readers in my bracket have mostly learned the lessons he imparted from this book hence I did say that I am a wrong audience. Heard that this has mixed reviews, went on to read some of them and unsurprisingly we have the same thoughts among those reviewers.

I do think that the book is essentially catered and more suitable towards millennials and Gen Z’s who are yet to discover the other side of life and needs guidance, or any person who is still starting to open up their eyes to the difficulties of life and still on the earliest stage of conquering and solving life problems, the book is pretty basic actually with minute substance. When I get to the end part of the book, it did hooked me up once again.

Personally, what I absolutely like about this book is that the author imparts other interesting real-life stories that are inspiring including his, I always love the part where he talks about his own experiences and how they shaped him to be who he is today. It was a great read, I was about to put it down in the middle of my reading but decided to finish it which I did not regret at all.

Favorite Part and Favorite Key Takeaway:

Improvement at anything is based on thousands of tiny failures, and the magnitude of your success is based on how many times you’ve failed at something. This made me realize that if a person is good at something than you, chances are that, that person probably failed many times than you have.

#bookreview #book #reading #review #literature #books #writing #The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fuck

[adinathgirhe-blog]

50 Best Vlog Content Ideas For Students 2024

Vlogging has emerged as a dynamic form of self-expression and communication, particularly among students. With the rise of platforms like YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram, vlog content ideas for students have become increasingly popular, offering a window into the diverse experiences of student life. This article will explore the world of student vlogging, providing trending vlog ideas for students that range from educational insights to daily adventures on campus. Whether you’re a high schooler sharing your journey through the academic year or a college student documenting the thrills of campus events, vlogging allows you to connect with peers and share your story with the world. From vlog topics for students that delve into study tips and course reviews to vlog examples for students that capture the essence of student culture, this medium is an invaluable tool for education and entertainment.

Vlog Ideas for Everyday Student Life

The daily life of a student is filled with moments worth capturing, from the rush of getting to class to the quiet hours spent in the library. Here are some vlog ideas that can turn everyday student experiences into engaging content: 1. Morning Routine Start your vlog by sharing your morning routine. Whether it’s a quick coffee before a lecture or a jog around campus, viewers are often curious about how students kickstart their day. 2. Classroom Insights Give your audience a sneak peek into your classes. Share snippets of lectures, discussions, and even your note-taking strategies. It’s a great way to provide a realistic view of student academics. 3. Study Sessions “Study With Me” videos are incredibly popular. Film a time-lapse of your study sessions, share your favorite study spots or discuss how you stay motivated during exam season. 4. Campus Life Showcase what makes your campus special. Take your viewers on a tour of the grounds, the library, the cafeteria, and other student facilities. Highlight events, clubs, and activities available on campus. 5. Food and Dining Vlogs about campus cuisine or cooking in a dorm can be both informative and entertaining. Share your meal prep tips, favorite dining halls, or budget-friendly recipes. 6. Fitness and Well-being Many students strive to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Share your workout routines, mindfulness practices, or tips for staying healthy during the school year. 7. Dorm Room Tours Dorm rooms are personal and unique spaces. Give a tour of your room, share organization hacks, and show how you’ve made the space your own. 8. Social Life Document the social aspect of student life. From hanging out with friends to attending student events, these vlogs can offer a sense of community and belonging. 9. Extracurricular Activities Whether it’s sports, music, or art, extracurricular activities are a big part of student life. Share your experiences and showcase the skills you’re developing outside the classroom. 10. Reflections and Advice End your vlogs with personal reflections or advice for fellow students. Share what you’ve learned, challenges you’ve faced, and tips for navigating student life. Also Read: 30 Best School Vlog Ideas That Will Make You Stand Out 2024 50 Best Storytime Ideas for YouTube That You Haven’t Heard Before 24-Hour Challenge ideas for YouTube: 25+ Most Unique & Fun Challenges

Educational Vlogs

Educational vlogs are a fantastic way for students to share knowledge and learn in an interactive, engaging manner. Here’s how you can create content that is both informative and captivating: 1. Tutorial Series Create a series of tutorials on subjects you’re passionate about. Whether it’s math, science, or literature, break down complex topics into manageable lessons. 2. Study Techniques Share your most effective study methods. Discuss how you organize notes, prepare for exams, or use flashcards and other tools to retain information. 3. Book Reviews Dive into the world of literature with book reviews and discussions. Analyze themes, characters, and plot developments in your favorite reads. 4. Science Experiments Bring science to life with at-home experiments or demonstrations. Explain the principles behind each experiment and the results you observe. 5. Language Learning Document your journey of learning a new language. Share tips, common phrases, and cultural insights that you’ve picked up along the way. 6. Historical Documentaries Create mini-documentaries on historical events or figures. Use visuals and storytelling to make history engaging and relevant. 7. Math Problem Solving Walk viewers through solving math problems step-by-step. Highlight different approaches and techniques to tackle various types of equations. 8. Art and Music Appreciation Explore the world of art and music. Discuss different styles, periods, and artists, or demonstrate musical techniques and compositions. 9. Tech Tutorials For the tech-savvy, create tutorials on coding, app development, or using different software. Explain concepts in a way that’s accessible to beginners. 10. Career and College Advice Offer guidance on college applications, choosing a major, or career planning. Share your experiences and what you’ve learned along the way.

Creative and Fun Vlogs

Vlogging isn’t just about sharing knowledge; it’s also about having fun and letting your creativity shine. Here are some ideas for vlogs that are sure to entertain and engage your audience: 1. Challenge Vlogs Take on trending challenges or create your own. Whether it’s a 30-day fitness challenge or a cooking challenge, these vlogs can be a hit with viewers who enjoy watching others push their limits. 2. Travel Diaries Even if you’re just exploring your hometown, travel vlogs can be incredibly engaging. Share your adventures, the places you discover, and the people you meet along the way. 3. Creative Projects Document the process of creating something unique, like a painting, a piece of music, or a DIY project. These vlogs can be particularly inspiring to viewers who enjoy the arts. 4. Comedy and Skits Show off your humorous side with comedy vlogs. Create skits, and parodies, or simply share funny stories from your student life. 5. Fashion and Lifestyle Share your personal style and fashion tips. Vlogs about outfit ideas, thrift shopping, or makeup tutorials can attract viewers interested in lifestyle content. 6. Music and Dance If you’re musically inclined, share performances or cover songs. Dance vlogs can also be a fun way to showcase your talent and share different dance styles. 7. Gaming and Esports For gamers, vlogs about gaming experiences, walkthroughs, or esports events can be both informative and entertaining. 8. Unboxing and Reviews Create vlogs where you unbox new products or review items that are relevant to student life, like tech gadgets, books, or study tools. 9. Q&A Sessions Engage with your audience through Q&A vlogs. Answer questions about student life, your personal experiences, or any topic your viewers are curious about. 10. Collaborations Team up with other student vloggers for collaborative content. This can be a great way to cross-promote channels and reach a wider audience.

Vlog Topics for Special Occasions

Special occasions and events provide a wealth of content opportunities for student vloggers. These moments, often filled with excitement and novelty, can attract a larger audience looking to experience or learn about these events through your eyes. Here are some vlog topics that can capture the essence of these occasions: 1. Festivals and Cultural Events Document the vibrant atmosphere of festivals and cultural events on and off campus. Share the traditions, performances, and community spirit that define these gatherings. 2. Holiday Celebrations Whether it’s decorating your dorm for Christmas, sharing a Thanksgiving meal, or exploring city lights during Diwali, holiday vlogs can be heartwarming and festive. 3. Sports Events Capture the thrill of college sports events. From football games to intramural matches, showcase the energy and camaraderie among students and athletes. 4. Graduation Day A milestone for every student, graduation day is filled with emotions and achievements. Vlog about the preparations, the ceremony, and the bittersweet farewells. 5. Back to School The start of a new academic year is a time of fresh beginnings. Share your back-to-school shopping, setting up your study space, and meeting new classmates. 6. Charity and Volunteer Work Highlight the impact of charity events or volunteer work you’re involved in. These vlogs can inspire others to give back and make a difference. 7. Art and Music Festivals If you’re an art or music enthusiast, vlog about your experiences at art exhibitions or music festivals. Share your thoughts on the performances and the atmosphere. 8. Study Abroad For those studying abroad or on exchange, vlogs about your experiences in a new country can be both educational and exciting for viewers. 9. Seasonal Activities Each season brings its own set of activities. Create vlogs about enjoying the summer sun, the autumn leaves, winter snow, or spring blossoms. 10. Personal Milestones Celebrate personal achievements like receiving an award, completing a challenging project, or hitting a vlog subscriber milestone.

Collaborative Vlogs

Collaboration is a cornerstone of the vlogging community, bringing together diverse voices and talents to create content that is rich, varied, and engaging. Here’s how student vloggers can make the most out of collaborative efforts: 1. Joint Study Sessions Team up with classmates to film study sessions that offer multiple perspectives on a subject. This can be particularly helpful during exam preparations. 2. Group Challenges Participate in group challenges that encourage teamwork and creativity. Document the process and the outcomes, showcasing the collaborative spirit. 3. Interview Exchanges Conduct interviews with other student vloggers. Share experiences, and tips, and discuss various aspects of student life from different viewpoints. 4. Cross-Campus Collaborations Connect with students from other schools or universities for a broader perspective. Compare campus cultures, courses, and student activities. 5. Multi-Genre Mashups Combine different vlogging styles and genres. For instance, a fashion vlogger and a tech vlogger could create content on tech wearables. 6. Event Collaborations Cover events like concerts, plays, or sports games with other vloggers. Each participant can focus on different aspects of the event to provide comprehensive coverage. 7. Social Impact Projects Work together on projects that aim to make a positive impact. Document the journey and the change you’re striving to make in the community. 8. Cultural Exchange Vlogs Pair up with international students to create vlogs that explore cultural differences, cuisines, languages, and lifestyles. 9. Creative Brainstorming Host brainstorming sessions where you and your collaborators come up with new vlog ideas. Share the creative process with your audience. 10. Skill-Sharing Sessions Teach each other skills, whether it’s a new language, a craft, or coding. These vlogs can be educational and showcase the value of learning from peers.

Technical Tips for Student Vloggers

Embarking on a vlogging journey requires more than just creative ideas; it also demands a certain level of technical know-how. Here are some essential technical tips to help student vloggers produce high-quality content: Start with what you have, even if it’s just your smartphone. As you grow, consider investing in a good-quality camera, microphone, and tripod for better audio-visual quality. Good lighting can significantly enhance your video quality. Natural light is your best friend, but if you’re filming indoors, consider softbox lights or ring lights to eliminate shadows. Clear audio is crucial. Use an external microphone if possible, and try to record in quiet environments to avoid background noise. Use a tripod or a stabilizer to keep your footage steady. Shaky videos can be distracting and unprofessional. Familiarize yourself with video editing software. Basic skills like cutting, transitioning, and adding text can go a long way in making your vlogs more engaging. Maintain a consistent format for your vlogs. This includes the intro, outro, and any recurring segments or graphics you use. Create eye-catching thumbnails that accurately represent the content of your vlog. A good thumbnail can make the difference between someone clicking on your video or scrolling past it. Learn the basics of SEO (Search Engine Optimization) to make your vlogs more discoverable. Use relevant keywords in your titles, descriptions, and tags. Respond to comments and engage with your viewers. Building a community around your channel can encourage more interaction and growth. Post content regularly and stick to a schedule if possible. Consistency helps retain viewers and shows commitment to your vlogging endeavor. FAQs: How do you make a student vlog?Choose a topic, plan your content, gather equipment like a camera or smartphone, record your footage, edit using software, and upload to a platform like YouTube.What are some funny vlog content ideas for students?Here are some funny Vlog Content Ideas for Students: Create parodies of student life, a ‘day-in-reverse’ challenge, or humorous ‘how-to’ guides for common student tasksWhat are the YouTube vlog content ideas for students?YouTube Vlog Content Ideas for Students: Share a day in the life, DIY projects, study tips, campus tours, or start a series on student budgeting.Give me some educational vlog ideas for students.Educational Vlog Ideas for Students: Make vlogs on study techniques, educational challenges, book summaries, or explain complex topics in simple termsWhat are some aesthetic vlog content ideas for students?Aesthetic Vlog Content Ideas for Students: Document a ‘study with me’ session with a pleasing aesthetic, or create vlogs showcasing your artistic hobbies like painting or music.Mention some trending vlog ideas for college students.Trending Vlog Ideas for College Students: Cover college events, do a series on ‘life hacks for college’, or vlog about your experiences in different student organizations. Also Read: 8 Unique Vlogging Ideas for Beginners 20+ Fun and Unique YouTube Challenges for Kids 70 Crazy Food Challenges for YouTube to Grow Your Channel Conclusion: Vlogging is an enriching activity that allows students to document their lives, share knowledge, and connect with a global audience. Through vlog content ideas for students, individuals can explore a variety of topics and formats, from educational series to daily life chronicles, and from creative endeavors to special event coverage. The act of vlogging not only fosters creativity and communication skills but also serves as a digital portfolio that can open doors to future opportunities. As we’ve seen, there are endless possibilities when it comes to vlog ideas for students. Whether you’re providing a glimpse into your student life with vlog examples for students, sharing vlog topics for students that spark discussions, or collaborating with peers for vlogging ideas for students, the key is to be authentic and passionate about your content. Moreover, with the technical tips provided, student vloggers are equipped to produce content that is both visually and audibly pleasing, ensuring that their message is conveyed effectively. From educational vlog ideas for students that teach and inspire, to vlog ideas for college students that entertain and engage, the world of student vlogging is a canvas waiting for your unique brushstrokes. So, pick up your camera, brainstorm your first topic, and start your vlogging journey today. Who knows where your vlog content ideas for students will take you? The future of vlogging is bright, and it’s yours to shape. Read the full article

[dretas14]

Why Using Health Blog Is Important?

The majority of patients use medical blogs to keep in touch with their relatives and friends about their illness or treatment path. Though studies have examined the uses of writing, less is available about readers. This study attempted to fill that gap by investigating whether studying medical blogs influence the desire of taking preventative actions for health.

Blogging can help individuals with issues with mental health build the community they need and seek out help. This can reduce anxiety about mental health struggles and encourage people to be more mindful of their mental wellbeing. Furthermore, blogs provide a platform for those who might not have the opportunity to get traditional treatment. Two study-based experiments using scenarios as well as an qualitative study of real people who read health blogs proved the fact that reading blogs from patients led more people to consider taking further preventative actions. The kind of blog greatly had an impact on these motivations as well, with scientific blogs being more effective than personal narratives. Yet, the perception of susceptibility and severity did not mediate the results.

Participants rated health websites as easy to comprehend and read interesting, informative, intriguing, although a bit emotionally. This evaluation was similar to that of previous research. The personal-story blog was assessed as more understandable and emotional in comparison to the statistics-based condition. They speculated that it was due to the fact that readers may consider the personal-story blog as a sign of a similarity or proof with themselves, but the more statistics-centric blog was not. Blogs are a fantastic source for information about health. They typically provide plenty of detail on topics that are hard to locate in printed publications, like the latest therapies, medical research, and insurance policies. There are also personal accounts and patient testimonials. A lot of the top health blogs are written by caregivers. According to a study conducted recently, caregivers stated that the primary motivations for their blogging were to document events and share how they feel, communicate and reflect on the event.

A healthy health-related blog should refrain from using technical terminology and complex phrases. Instead, it should use simple language and speak to a large audience. It is much more likely for readers to take the time to read all of the content as well by seeking additional information from their medical professional. A lot of health website have "Q&A" sections in which users are able to solicit answers and seek out advice. These are particularly useful for making contact with prospects from the bottom of your funnel, who are willing to purchase. They can also write reviews of products that are healthy such as fitness gear, workout programs, as well in food products. People who want to know more about Health Blog, they will come here.

Being able to manage and create health blogs can be a powerful way to connect with your target audience and establish an image. Health blogs that are successful provide information, entertainment, and enrich readers' lives. In addition, they're an effective marketing tool that will increase traffic to websites and generate revenue. The most successful blog about health and well-being offer guest posts from leading experts on the subject. The blogs also have a section where visitors can inquire about their concerns and seek out advice. A few health sites even have an information page that offer links to relevant websites and books.

#Vimeo

[taruniasadhvik]

Best IAS Coaching In India

The Best IAS Coaching In India

Blog and Editing Post by Adhvik Sharma

Tarun IAS coaching institutes offer a range of instructional courses and study tools tailored specifically for their student population, in order to meet each of their diverse students' individual needs and provide them with a thorough knowledge and skill base needed for taking and passing the IAS exam.

Coaching programs usually consist of regular classes in a classroom environment with group discussions and mock tests as well as one-on-one instruction from experienced faculty members, mock tests, individual instruction from experienced faculty, online coaching or both for more flexible ways of studying. Many institutes now also provide flexible online coaching; study resources provided include printed notes, reference magazines, books about current events or online sources developed by specialists that reflect recent changes to exam format/syllabus changes.

Tips and strategies for selecting an IAS coach in India that will deliver optimal IAS coaching results

Preparing To IAS Requirements :-  

Preparing to take the IAS test requires an organized and dedicated effort; here are a few ideas on how to maximize coaching guidance and take full advantage of what guidance is offered to you.

Plan out your studies. Create an academic calendar which includes scheduled times for classes, revision, self-study and coaching. Be sure to abide by this plan so you cover each area/subject area adequately.

Take regular practice tests that reflect real world scenarios as part of your studies to evaluate your progress and highlight areas where performance must improve. Review past test performance as an assessment tool and pinpoint any weak areas where improvement must take place.

Engage in Group Conversations Engaging in group conversations can be an excellent way to broaden your knowledge on various subjects. Join uplifting discussions among your peers while gathering new insight from their opinions.

Don't be shy to reach out for guidance and clarification from faculty members; they are available to provide invaluable tips for successful test preparation.

Stay Up-to-date with current affairs by reading newspapers, magazines and sources on the web. Staying current will give you an advantage during IAS test administration; current events play a vital role!

Cost and Financial Aid Options of IAS Coaching:

Cost of IAS coaching depends upon factors including institute, location and length. Coaching costs range anywhere from just a few thousand to hundreds of thousands dollars; so it is crucial that any potential schools consider all financial considerations before signing on for coaching services.

Many coaching schools provide scholarships, discounts or payment installments in order to make coaching affordable for students. Some also provide financial aid based on academic achievements or interview performances.

Additionally, grants and government programs available to economically weaker segments offer financial assistance that may allow you to complete the IAS exam without financial strain. Check these options as potential options that can assist in financing this exam without an undue financial strain on you!

Conclusion and thoughts regarding India's most effective IAS training: India Conclusion and considerations about top-ranked IAS coaching: India

Finding an IAS coaching institute that meets your specific needs and demands is of crucial importance to your experience in IAS training. Be mindful to consider factors like instructors' experience and study materials provided, infrastructure availability and success rate of previous students before making your selection. Remember success requires hard work, perseverance and the appropriate direction; find one now to begin your journey to success and enjoy yourself on this amazing journey.

#education #higher education #iascoaching #iaspreparation #upsc #delhincr

[izmooi]

izi's Random Movie Reviews

Animal Farm, 1954 dir. Joy Batchelor and John Halas

This post contains spoilers.

"This movie is agonizing from an outsider's perspective because the farmer is just like the animals."

When I was in middle school, we had different groups in my English class to read certain classics of literature. While I wasn't in their group (and I still regretfully haven't taken the time to read the book), I was always fascinated by what the Animal Farm group was up to in their readings. I've grown to understand this literature as a means of portraying politics and the "human" condition (only put into quotes because this media is about animals and not people). To sit and watch this movie, especially during the time of America's uncertainty but undeniable corruption of politics, is eye-opening. Animal Farm has stood the test of time by always being relevant (being an animated film from the 50s also fills me with many questions about how this was received). History is doomed to repeat without proper discipline and understanding of perspectives and equity. I think that is what Animal Farm represents.

The animals started their revolution strong but eventually became what they were warned not to become (the farmer). Animal Farm became a clear visual of how important it is to keep your humility and remember what started the revolution in the first place. Animal Farm had established rules that reminded them of what they were there for and who they represented (animals, not humans). Over time, with the dictatorship of Napoleon and soon other pigs, those were rewritten. This movie is agonizing from an outsider's perspective because the farmer is just like the animals. The farmer starts the film by showing he's overworked. He then reflects the behavior he is subjected to onto the animals, and in turn, the animals do it to themselves in a vicious cycle. Despite going through so much hurt and dismay, many animals (especially poor little Benjamin) never lost sight of what being an animal and a part of that community means.

For the film (and I'm assuming the book) to end just like it started, with a revolution driven for change, provides hope of breaking the cycle bit by bit, until proper rights and freedom are restored for the animals. At the end of the movie, the narrator shares that the animals don't even quite know if there's any point in doing what they're doing and how it will affect their near future or the end of their life, but they still know it's something they have to do. That is something that can be said for every generation. Generations work hard to live the life they have always wanted to live, to embrace their freedoms more than the generation could before them, and only hope to give space for the next generation to have their prosperity too.

This movie was beautifully animated (the animals were so animal-like in nature, it was very charming). The backgrounds were beautifully rendered to help set me in the space of Animal Farm. I really enjoyed the limited dialogue and the elaborate soundtrack that carried the emotion, voice, and action of the animals. It's been a long time coming for me to finally experience this narrative, and now that I'm not in middle school, I feel like I can understand it so much better. Hopefully, now I can borrow the book and read about more details that may have been missing from the film. A must-watch (and/or read) for everyone.

8/10

Check out this review and more on my Letterboxd

#izi thoughts #izi's random movie reviews #movie review #movies #movie #animal farm #animal farm 1954 #animated movie

[royaltajtour]

Taj Mahal Tour By Car From Delhi

Introduction

The Taj Mahal, a timeless symbol of love, beckons travelers from around the world. With its majestic beauty and rich history, a the Taj Mahal Tour By Car From Delhi to promises an unforgettable experience.

Planning Your Taj Mahal Tour

Embarking on a road trip requires meticulous planning. Choose a comfortable car for the journey, considering the duration and your travel companions. The best time to visit the Taj Mahal is during the cooler months, between October and March. Ensure all travel arrangements, including accommodation and tickets, are booked well in advance.

Route and Stops

The journey from Delhi to Agra is filled with scenic beauty. Plan your stops wisely, exploring hidden gems along the way. From traditional roadside dhabas to ancient monuments, the route offers a blend of modern and historical attractions.

Exploring Agra

Upon arrival in Agra, dive into the city's rich history by visiting the Agra Fort. Don't miss the chance to savor local delicacies that capture the essence of Mughlai cuisine.

The Taj Mahal Experience

To make the most of your Taj Mahal visit, familiarize yourself with entrance details, ticket prices, and available tours. Consider visiting during sunset or sunrise for a magical view of the iconic structure.

Capturing Memories

Photography enthusiasts will find the Taj Mahal a captivating subject. Discover the best angles and spots to capture the monument's timeless beauty.

Local Art and Craft

Agra is a treasure trove of exquisite handmade crafts. Support local artisans and take home souvenirs that reflect the city's artistic heritage.

Cultural Etiquette

Respect the Taj Mahal and its surroundings by adhering to cultural etiquette. Understand local customs to enhance your travel experience.

Budget-Friendly Tips

Traveling on a budget doesn't mean compromising on experience. Explore affordable accommodation options and savor cost-effective local cuisines.

Sustainability and Responsible Tourism

Contribute to the preservation of the Taj Mahal by adopting eco-friendly practices and supporting local initiatives.

Challenges and Precautions

Be prepared for varying weather conditions and follow security tips to ensure a safe and enjoyable tour.

Other Attractions in Agra

Extend your itinerary to explore nearby attractions like Fatehpur Sikri and Mehtab Bagh for a more comprehensive experience.

Testimonials

Read about the awe-inspiring experiences shared by fellow travelers and check online reviews to build anticipation for your own journey.

Conclusion

As you wrap up your Taj Mahal tour, take a moment to reflect on the beauty and history witnessed. Encourage fellow travelers to embark on this enriching adventure.